Russian stand-up goes viral while comedians face jail, exile and bans
Feb 23rd 2026
A popular YouTube comedy clip highlights a shrinking space for humor in Russia after new speech laws, activist reporting and high-profile prosecutions pushed some comedians into exile and others into self-censorship.
- A Plyushki video posted last month has more than 1.3 million views and includes a disclaimer that some jokes are only wordplay.
- Comedian Artemy Ostanin was sentenced to five years and nine months after convictions for inciting hatred over a joke about a disabled person and for offending religious believers over a joke about Jesus.
- Pro-government activists from Zov Naroda reported Ostanin, who was arrested in Belarus, deported to Russia, and later alleged he had been beaten there.
- Since the 2022 invasion, laws criminalizing so called discrediting of the army have been used to punish speech, with penalties of up to 15 years.
- Many comedians now self censor, move political material off TV into small private shows or online, or leave the country, and some performers have been banned from Russia.
- Stand-up remains popular in clubs and online but mainstream stages avoid political jokes and performers warn audiences in advance to reduce risk.